David Redfern, founder of DSR Tax Claims and one of the UK’s leading tax experts, today urged construction contractors working under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) to take steps to reclaim their overpaid income tax without delay. The majority of construction contractors who work under the CIS are due tax refunds, due to the way that they are taxed under the scheme, and some of these tax refunds can be worth several thousands of pounds. Redfern urged these workers to take steps now to claim their tax rebates as the 2017/18 tax year has come to a close.

Redfern stated that “many CIS workers don’t realise that they can file their tax returns as soon as the tax year has come to an end – they mistakenly believe that they have to wait until the 31stJanuary deadline, but that is incorrect. They can file any time after the end of the tax year and as soon as they have filed their tax return, HMRC can process their tax refund”. He added that it made more sense to file self-assessment tax returns sooner rather than later, as the relevant supporting information was still fresh and to hand, advising that the longer tax returns are left, the bigger the chance of losing out on the maximum allowable rebate.

Highlighting DSR Tax Claims’ ‘Knowledge is Power’ campaign to increase awareness among CIS construction contractors on their allowable expenses, Redfern noted that CIS workers needed to make sure that they were aware of all the areas of tax relief that are available to members of the CIS. He noted that “as we have been seeing through our campaign and the clients we have been meeting, awareness of the tax relief that construction contractors are entitled to is still very patchy and we urge CIS workers to make sure that they get expert advice with regard to their tax returns to ensure that they are able to make the most of the efficiencies allowed them under HMRC regulations”. He finished by reminding CIS workers that claims could be backdated for up to four years, so they needn’t lose out from their previous lack of tax relief knowledge. DSR Tax Claims’ ‘Knowledge is Power’ campaign continues for the rest of April.